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EUGENE, Ore. — Everything that could go wrong went wrong for the Utah women's basketball team on the road Friday night.
The Utes started off the game 3-of-22 from the field and 1-of-13 from 3-point range. Utah had only 21 points and Alissa Pili was held to 0 points in the first half. Talk about an uncharacteristic night.
Fortunately for the Utes, Maty Wilke was there to save the day.
The Wisconsin transfer kept the Utes in the game in the first half, scoring a much-needed 8 points, and was about the only answer for a team that shot 25% from the field and 20% from 3-point range in the first half.
The second half went much better.
Utah came out of the locker room with a better look, and worked together as a team to go on a 12-0 run to eventually take a 9-point lead. Oregon tried to regain the lead, cutting a one-time 9-point lead to 3, but Utah fought back to pull away for a 58-48 win.
Oregon (11-10, 2-6 Pac-12) closed out the game on a four-minute scoring drought against a tough Utah (15-5, 5-3 Pac-12) defense that answered the call to closeout the game.
Pili finished the night with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds, despite being held scoreless in the first half. Wilke finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and Jenna Johnson added a 10 points and 10 rebounds double-double for the Utes.
Utah finished the night shooting an improved 35% from the floor and 27% from 3-point range, and managed to outrebound the Ducks 38-36 after a five-rebound deficit going into the halftime break behind a dominant 10 rebound first-half effort by Phillipina Kyei.
Kyei presented a difficult challenge for the Utes as the tallest player on the court and corralling everything that came her way for much of the night. She finished with a game-high 19 points and 16 rebounds in the loss for an Oregon team that was without its starting scorer Grace Vanslooten due to concussion symptoms.
With the win, Utah recorded its 1,000th win all-time in program history.
